Not a runner exactly, but I'm kind of surprised Nike didn't drop Shawn Barber after the craigslist/hooker/cocaine positive thing. That can't be good for selling shoes, especially the way he under performed at the Olympics due to the whole debacle.
Not a runner exactly, but I'm kind of surprised Nike didn't drop Shawn Barber after the craigslist/hooker/cocaine positive thing. That can't be good for selling shoes, especially the way he under performed at the Olympics due to the whole debacle.
So Ryan is going to spend the rest of his life calling himself a "2:04 marathoner" based on his net downhill wind-aided time (barely under 2:05). The guy was fast enough to not have to resort to this BS. It's like hobbyjoggers who PR at St George and refer to themselves as a "sub-3:00 marathoner"when they wouldn't have gotten within five minutes of that on a fair course.
Pretty sad.
Gotta wonder, if Derrick and Bumbalough fail to run a decent mark (sub-28 I'd say), it's hard to imagine them having contracts much longer. Pulling for both of them.
Christian Sortatos sucks
CO Coach wrote:
Not a runner exactly, but I'm kind of surprised Nike didn't drop Shawn Barber after the craigslist/hooker/cocaine positive thing. That can't be good for selling shoes, especially the way he under performed at the Olympics due to the whole debacle.
You're an idiot. Everyone does weird stuff, but he actually had to admit and get caught. I think that's an awesome story, to some fans it helps his marketability. And yes I know drugs are terrible. Who cares about what the butt hurt and narrow minded individuals think. There's more to a person than one weird story or article. Stop being so shallow and judgmental. He's still a top tier athlete anyways.
I agree with Bumbalough, Derrick, Fernandez, Lomong.
But Huling beat Jager (under different racing tactics, obviously) at worlds last year, getting fifth. I would hardly say he has had a rough few years. He had a rough year THIS year, and that is bad luck mostly.
Bumbalough hasn't produced a decent result in YEARS. He should have been cut, IMO. Derrick will be good still. Who knows about Lomong/German. I'm sure they are all on barely living stipends on this point.
Must be nice to have one or two good races and live off that for 5 years, or in some cases even longer. Nostalgia is real.
MULDER is a good answer. My god, what has that guy done in the last 4 years???? He doesn't even serve well as a rabbit for that group because everyone else sucks too!
Cockadoodledoo wrote:
Race performances are just one factor in an athlete's overall value and marketability. Too many LRC'ers think fast times are sole determinant of an athlete's value to a sponsor. Kind of like thinking grade point average is the sole determinant of how much someone will make in the future. Yes, it's a factor, but only one. An athlete's story, likeability, looks, personality, social media reach and yes, times, all factor into potential worth. Bet your ass brand have sophisticated algorithms to calculate athlete valuations.
Drew Hunter, for example, is criticized for not being "worth it." Kid has historical performances running sub-5 in HS, has an amazing story with ties to the American Record holder (Webb), has apple pie good looks and gives a good interview. He fits the ideal persona to be used in the Adidas brand narrative.
Finally, the amount of money involved is .... quaint. Seriously $50k/yr for athlete sponsorship is a rounding error for big brands. They spend that per day on banner ads. And yes you can add a zero for Hunter. So who cares if Chris Derrick hasn't lit things up recently. Guy still over indexes on numerous other factors so in Nike's calculations he's worth it. Good for him. And German. And Jordan. And many others. Good for them all.
Sub 5 is no biggie and Apple Pie looks like something a vegan with the runs might leave in a port-o-let.
Andy vernon
You know he's sub *4* minutes in high school. You look good in green (with envy).
Cockadoodledoo wrote:
You know he's sub *4* minutes in high school. You look good in green (with envy).
I thought you were talking about his 50 mile time. Not many have broken 5 hours.
How about leave that up to the sponsors? they do not have reputations for sticking with athletes longer than they should.
Marv53 wrote:
brogan1 wrote:Contracts don't necessarily have to reflect recent performances. If an athlete entering a race makes people talk, even if it is just dreamy "what if" talk, then a 5 figure salary is worth it for a 28 billion dollar company like Nike.
Perfect description of alan webb. He's currently a 17:xx 5k professional athete signed by nike.
Alan was 81st in 18:19 at this 5k cross country race in late September:
http://www.hubertiming.com/results/2016Stumptown1Yeah I'm still scratching my head over German Fernandez. I am glad that he still has a contract and want athletes to have contracts as long as possible, but he hasn't done anything in a long long time.
Yeah sub 60 half marathoner, ran a 2:06 multiple olympian.
He sucks.
I bet you couldn't sniff 3:30 on a god day.
Contracts have a start and end point. a lot of people will probably be getting dropped this year if theirs are up if they ran like crap at the trials. So just bc someone sucks it doesn't really matter unless their contract is coming to a close anyways. Some may go through 2018.
Some who should probably be dropped:
Nick Arciniaga
Ben Bruce
Jeff Eggleston
Chris Derrick hasnt done anything but will most likely not get dropped
Bumbi hasn't done anything in years
Bobby curtis??
Just a few names that come to mind
Mr. Biggs wrote:
Fill in the blank.
As 2016 starts to come to an end it is time to ask.
How does _____________ still have a pro (running/track) contract?
I will start
German Fernandez
Jen Rhines
I don't know that Jen Rhines has a "pro contract" other than from BAA, which is probably not much. She is still a VERY good masters runner.
I wish mods would remove THESE kind of posts. Who cares what the poster is capable of!!!! It has nothing to do with whether the pro sucks or not.
This is my least favorite type of post on letsrun, which is infested with garbage.
Basically, most of you posting on this thread only want people who made the Olympic team to be sponsored? Injuries happen. Dropping Derrick? Seriously? He finished 5th at the Olympic trials despite not being healthy, and he just ran 27:38 today.
Am I living in the twilight zone? The Boston Marathon weather was terrible!
Is there a rule against attaching a helium balloon to yourself while running a road race?
How rare is it to run a sub 5 minute mile AND bench press 225?
Move over Mark Coogan, Rojo and John Kellogg share their 3 favorite mile workouts
Mark Coogan says that if you could only do 3 workouts as a 1500m runner you should do these
Matt Choi was drinking beer halfway through the Boston Marathon